Pastor Harry’s Thoughts for August

Dear Church Family,

There is a verse near the end of Deuteronomy 3 that I don’t remember hearing discussed very often. Moses had spent years leading the children of Israel toward the land God had promised them, but he would not be the one to take them across the Jordan. Joshua would lead them forward instead. Then, in Deuteronomy 3:28, God gave Moses this instruction: “But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see. I keep coming back to those three words: charge him, encourage him, and strengthen him. Joshua needed to understand the responsibility being placed upon him, but instructions alone wouldn’t be enough. He was about to enter unfamiliar territory, make decisions he had never made, and lead without the man he had followed for so many years standing in front of him. God knew Joshua would need courage, and He told Moses to help place that courage within him. That thought has stayed with me because courage isn’t always something we find entirely on our own. Sometimes it is given to us. Sometimes we borrow courage from another person until we’re able to stand more firmly ourselves.

Most of us can remember a time when someone believed in us before we believed in ourselves. Perhaps they told us we were capable when we felt completely unprepared. Maybe they sat beside us in a waiting room, called before a difficult appointment, remained close during a loss, or simply said, “You’re not going to face this by yourself.” They may not have changed the situation, but they changed the way we entered it.

There are times when the road ahead appears larger than the strength we believe we have left. Someone who once drove everywhere without thinking may now have to depend on others for appointments and errands. A man who spent most of his life fixing things and being the one everybody called may wonder who he is when his hands can no longer do what they once did. A woman may find herself sorting through a lifetime of belongings because the home she has known for decades has become more than she can manage.

A person may be eating supper alone at a table that was once crowded. Someone else may be answering the same question again and again for a spouse who no longer remembers asking it. Another may walk into a room where everyone seems younger, faster, and more certain of where they belong. Those changes don’t always arrive in an instant, but rather little by little, until one day everything familiar feels different. At moments like those, people don’t always need advice or an answer tied neatly around what they’re experiencing. Sometimes they simply need another person to come close enough to lend them some courage.

There is an old account from the English Reformation that has remained with people for centuries. On October 16, 1555, two English bishops, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer, were executed together in Oxford because of their religious convictions. As the two men stood beside one another facing death, these words were later recorded as having been spoken by Latimer to his companion: “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” What moves me most is that Latimer wasn’t speaking from a place of safety. He was facing the same flames and the same fear as the man standing beside him. He couldn’t rescue Ridley or remove what was waiting before them. All he could do was stand beside his friend and place some courage into him for the moment ahead. Sometimes that is the greatest gift we can give another person.

Perhaps encouragement still does something like what Latimer described that day: it lights a candle. A sincere word spoken at the right moment, a telephone call, a handwritten note, a hand resting on a shoulder, or simply being present when someone feels alone can kindle courage within them. It may not remove the darkness around them, but it can give them enough light to take the next step. We may never know how long that light continues to burn. Something we say in a few moments may remain with another person for years. The courage we place in someone today may later become the courage they give to somebody else.

That is why encouragement is more than saying something pleasant. It doesn’t pretend that everything will be easy or promise an outcome we cannot guarantee. It simply says, “This may be hard, but I’ll stand beside you.” It says, “I know you’re tired, but I still see strength in you.” It says, “I don’t have an answer for everything, but I’m not going anywhere.” There is also something deeply moving about God asking Moses to encourage Joshua. Joshua was going to enter the very land Moses had longed to enter. He would finish the journey Moses had begun and lead the people into a future Moses would only see from a distance.

Moses could have withdrawn into disappointment. Instead, God told him to prepare Joshua, encourage him, and make him stronger. There is something important in that for all of us. There may come a time when someone else carries a responsibility we once held, continues work we helped begin, or travels farther down a road than we’re able to go. That doesn’t mean our contribution has ended.It may mean that one of our greatest contributions now is placing courage, wisdom, confidence, and faith into those who will carry things forward. Joshua needed Moses, not because Moses could cross the Jordan for him, but because there were things only Moses could place within him before he crossed it himself.

A church needs people who are willing to do that for one another. Younger people need more than correction; they need someone to recognize what God may be developing within them and tell them not to give up. Those assuming new responsibilities need someone willing to say, “I believe you can carry this.” Those whose lives have changed need to know that their value has not disappeared simply because their role looks different. So, tell the person who quietly serves that their faithfulness has been noticed. Tell the one facing change that their presence still matters. Tell the younger person that you see potential in them. Tell the person who is tired that they don’t have to carry everything alone. We often save our kindest words for funerals, retirement celebrations, or moments when a chapter has already ended. Perhaps we shouldn’t wait.

Some of the courage we carry today was once given to us by somebody else. Someone spoke a word, offered a prayer, stayed in the room, believed in us, or held a light when our own had grown dim. This August, let’s encourage one another, strengthen one another, and be willing to light a candle in someone else. Light the candle while they can still feel its warmth. By God’s grace, it may burn far longer than we will ever know.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Harry & Jennifer